"The future of development lies in the hands of millions of citizens. It's a bold statement by Rakesh Rajani, founder of Twaweza, who was in London for the debate on the future of aid organised by the Overseas Development Institute. Only two years old, Twaweza, which means "we can make it happen" in Swahili, is attempting to do just that across three east African countries, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

Rajani's strategy is to spread information, believing that crucial to the process of development is access to ideas. Twaweza focuses on what it believes are the five main routes for people to hear new ideas in the region: religion; mobile phones; mass media, in particular radio; fast-moving consumer goods; and teachers. Twaweza builds partnerships in all these areas to spread ideas, draw in new voices and open up conversations. It works rather like a venture fund, initiating ideas and getting new organisations off the ground. Rajani cites Amartya Sen's comment that poverty is not about a lack of money, but about a lack of options. His aim is to find new ways to intervene in people's lives to widen their options."

CommGAP: What is your definition of “media development” or “media assistance”?

SULLIVAN: When we talk about the environment in which an independent media can flourish, it’s like a stool with a number of legs, which include the following: professional journalists; a strong legal enabling environment for journalists; and media literacy on the part of the public. This means that citizens should be enlightened consumers of the media. It also means good governance; that the government has an operative system that is responsive to media inquiries, and has in place efficient and effective mechanisms to get information of public interest out to the people.